"And then I said, that's not a soufflé, that's my wife!"

Josh laughed maniacally to himself as the others sitting along the dining table stared at him with blank faces.

"W-what?" Geoff inquired.

Josh chuckled. "Just- Forget about it..."

"Ok...?"

And there they were. The entire Operation BUD crew was seated for their dining experience, save for Debra, who was the official cook. She usually went hunting with Reosir and brought back meat which she cooked into masterpieces.

Light Bud was also there, sitting in the middle right of the table, all Jesus like. On his plate rested precisely 15 croissants, which harshly contrasted to the white, empty plates of the rest of the crew. Dom nudged Sniffer with his elbow. "Whats up with the croissants?"

Sniffer leaned over. "Apparently it's like a big part of Bud diet or something. I don't know, croissants make up half of what he ever talks about."

Light Bud eloquently took a bite of a croissant, looking out of the window. "What a beautiful planet. chew" he turned to face the others. "This feels like a picnic."

The rest of the crew sat with blank expressions, just waiting for Light Bud to shut up. Luckily Debra walked in to break the awkward one-sided conversation with a stake like dirking device stabbed through some blorange-colored meat. "Yeah I didn't really know anything about animals on this planet so I'm not sure if this is even healthy to eat. If we all die of disease, it's not my fault."

"Alright?" Geoff said as a block of meat was flopped onto his plate.

Once everybody had food served, Josh reached for his fork, but was quickly stopped by a spark of red gigawatts from Light Bud. "Ouch!" Josh recoiled his hand while Light Bud tsked disapprovingly. "It's rude for you to eat before we have done the MARIO chant!"

Light Bud and the rest of the crew all clasped each other's hands in a circle around the table, waving back in forth like cacti. "Mario, Mario, let me in." Sniffer began. "Mario, Mario, let me in!" The rest echoed. Soon enough, the entire crew was in complete synchronization. "MARIO MARIO LET ME IN!" The crew hollered, applauding as Sniffer bowed for starting the ritual.

The group began to eat the blorange colored meat as if it was cauliflower. "Dang Debra," Josh mumbled in between chews. "This is pretty good."

"Thanks!" She replied, holding Reosir as she pecked at her now cooked prey. "It was pretty fun watching the life being squeezed out of some random animal I've never seen before."

Spencer shuddered in response to this statement, making everyone stop and stare. "Anything wrong, Spenc?" Rosebud asked.

"No!" Spencer tapped the table with his lustrous fork with greater intensity.

"You shuddered when Debra talked about life getting squeezed out of an animal!" Josh accused, Spencer shuddering again. "Is it possible that the cruel, ruthless Spencer has a soft spot?"

"No! Fuck you!" Spencer sent egg yolk colored gigawatts through his fork in anger.

"You aren't eating your food either..." Debra passive-aggressively glared down at Spencer's unpunctured meat, Reosir menacingly perched on her shoulder. "Is there something wrong with it?"

Spencer clenched his fork, slamming his fist onto the table with a splash of yellow sparks. "Fine! I'm a vegan, okay?" He screamed. "Is that what you want? IM A FUCKING VEGAN!"

The silence lingered, and Dom set down his glass nonchalantly as everyone else stared at Spencer. "What the fuck do you mean though?" Geoff asked.

"It MEANS that I DONT INGEST ANIMAL PRODUCTS, GEOFF! IF THAT EVEN IS YOUR REAL NAME!" Spencer scoffed.

"But...But... I thought you liked killing and stuff." Sniffer argued softly

Spencer smirked. "I like killing people. Because they suck dick. But animals... are amazing. Don't FUCK with my animals."

"So..." Rosebud interjected. "What now?"

Spencer leaned over his neglected meal, pointing his fork at Rosebud. "Oh, tomorrow, I'll show you a meal. I appoint myself the secondary chef, and I am going to make the BEST GOD DAMN MURDER-FREE MEAL EVER MADE!"

Debra leaned towards Spencer, smiling. "I didn't know you could cook."

Spencer grasped Debra's hands, interlocking their fingers like Velcro. "That's because I haven't shown you my expertise. Together, we'll be an UNSTOPPABLE FORCE!"

Geoff interrupted the display of inspiration, coughing into his fist. "Are you nerds going to keep talking, or are we going to eat?"

Debra and Spencer sat down, Spencer eating from a cucumber he left in his pocket. Soon enough, the plates were clean, the ghostly porcelain revealing itself.

Light Bud wobbled out of the room, saluting the rest of the crew. "I'm going to go to sleep now. Make sure to get your rest, especially you, Dom. You're going to be out on the field tomorrow."

"K" Dom mumbled, shuffling into his room.

The crew went their separate ways, and the lights dimmed in the Operation BUD headquarters. A new day lay on the horizon, filled with new opportunities.

And new danger.

Bum bum buyuhuhhm